Ty Herndon is known for his country hits like “What Mattered Most”, “Living in a Moment” and “It Must Be Love”. Recently, the out crooner released a batch of remixes and a new holiday single. With a career spanning two decades, 20 Billboard charted singles and over five million albums sold, Herndon shows no signs of slowing down.

Just in time for the holidays, Herndon paired with Crystal Lewis, contemporary Christian and gospel vocalist and songwriter, to do a rendition of “O Holy Night”. The ballad that the pair created offers a powerful and moving rendition that will make its way to many a holiday playlist.

Herndon admits that the dance songs were a new experience for him, “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.”

Herndon’s producers presented him with a partnership with an artist who has dance mixes out and Herndon suggested a few of his hits and some other songs that people “want to sing along to.” The change comes from him playing more and more LGBTQ Pride events, so fans who may not be familiar with his work can better enjoy his set.

“I wanted to cater to what the crowd wanted. Yes, you’re going to see a country artist and yes, you’re going to have a great time,” he said.

2019 is shaping up to be particularly prolific for Herndon, who has an album titled “Got It Covered” set to release in January as well, covering five of his own songs and five of his friends' songs. In March, he has both a jazz album and a new Country album planned.

Herndon’s career was catapulted to fame in the mid-90’s and has continued through today. While he's been open about the personal and professional challenges he's faced in his 20 plus years in the music industry, he's proved nothing but resilient. Since coming out as a gay man in 2014, Herndon said, “I’ve been set free. I get to do so many amazing things.”

“I truly believe that it is really brave to be honest,” Herndon explained. “There will be consequences sometimes, but those consequences can lead to victory. If you’re brave, if you study and you’re smart about who you are, you can do what you want in this life. No matter where we are, there’s always a way.”

“Looking back, I see a guy that was really full of fear. I take a lot of pride in that fear," he continued. "It drove me to where I am today and fortunately I lived through it, because there were days I did not want to. As long as you have a support system around you, family can be everything, and sometimes you have to create your own and there’s no shame in that.”

Throughout his career, Herndon has embraced myriad charitable causes, and in 2015, paired with GLAAD to create and co-found The Concert for Love and Acceptance. According to a press release, the driving force behind the benefit is Herndon’s desire to "foster positive cultural change and encourage Nashville’s youth to live to their fullest potential.”

The future plans for the sold out Concert of Love and Acceptance include taking it on the road as well as a televised concert special with CMT. Also on deck, a smaller, multi-city tour featuring up-and-coming queer artists. Herndon's partnership with GLAAD has also created the Ty Herndon music scholarship.

Further, Herndon took part in the single, “Hands”, that was released through Interscope Records in conjunction with GLAAD, in a musical tribute to the victims of the June 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Herndon was among a star-studded list of artists, including Mary J. Blige, Jason Derulo, Selena Gomez, Imagine Dragons, Jennifer Lopez, Kacey Musgraves, P!nk, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainer and more, voicing support for the LGBTQ community in the original song.

Herndon was on vacation in Italy when he was asked to do the song, but without a studio nearby, he recorded his own vocals for "Hands" in his hotel room and sent them in.

“Country music is very giving, just so charitable," said Herndon. "I learned very early on you have to give it to get it. I’m so fortunate, I’ve been in this business for 20 years, and I always say I’ve been able to buy a couple of barns and I find myself doing a lot of things that I really look forward to doing. I look forward to being able to show up at a Trevor Project, or GLAAD event."

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